Summary
FormerMass Effectdeveloper Mac Walters recently reflected on his decision to leave BioWare and form his own studio, including the success of 2021’sMass Effect Legendary Edition. Walters joined BioWare as a writer forthe East Asian-inspired RPGJade Empire, and went on to help craft the narrative of the studio’s highly successfulMass Effecttrilogy. He would then briefly serve as a narrative director forAnthem, before returning to theMass Effectuniverse for 2017’sMass Effect: Andromeda.
Mac Walters’s final job for BioWare was as project director for the upcomingDragon Age: Dreadwolf, but earlier this year he announced that he wasleaving BioWare after nearly 19 yearsand forming his own development team named Worlds Untold. Under the umbrella of Chinese gaming company NetEase, this Vancouver-based studio aims to create triple-A action-adventure games with “an emphasis on narrative and worldbuilding” and an eye toward developing successful franchises like the ones Walters helped craft during his time at BioWare.
One of the last things Mac Walters worked on before leaving BioWare wasMass Effect Legendary Edition, a remasteredcollection of the first threeMass Effectgamesthat included all of their supplementary DLC in one package. During a recent interview with gaming YouTube channel MinnMax, Walters revealed that the success ofLegendary Editionconvinced him to move on from the beloved sci-fi RPG franchise. “It just felt like this is the bow on all the things I’ve done inMass Effect,” he explained to host Ben Hanson towards the beginning of the interview. “I don’t want to do any moreMass Effectafter this. Why tempt fate?”
Walters went on to describe the arduous development cycle forMass Effect Legendary Edition, which he says reminded him of the early days of BioWare as a small, scrappy team of developers that formed a close bond while creating titles like the originalMass Effect. This development cycle also coincided with other major projects likeDragon Age: Dreadwolf, which Walters said complicated matters and required him to be “a little bit rogue” and “entrepreneurial” to keepLegendary Editionon track without disrupting the other development teams at BioWare.
When all was said and done, Mac Walters says he realized he wanted to go back to working on original IPs, just like he did withstory-based BioWare games likeJade EmpireandAnthem. After seeing that this wouldn’t be possible under EA and BioWare, Walters ultimately decided to leave and form his own studio in Worlds Untold. Meanwhile, theMass Effectfranchise will continue without him in the still-in-developmentMass Effect 4, and Worlds Untold has yet to announce its first video game project under NetEase as of this writing.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
WHERE TO PLAY
One person is all that stands between humanity and the greatest threat it’s ever faced. Relive the legend of Commander Shepard in the highly acclaimed Mass Effect trilogy with the Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Includes single-player base content and over 40 DLC from Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3 games, including promo weapons, armors and packs — remastered and optimized for 4K Ultra HD. Experience an amazingly rich and detailed universe where your decisions have profound consequences on the action and the outcome.
